I heard a Fly buzz when I died / Emily Dickinson
"I heard a Fly buzz when I died" is a lyric poem by American poet Emily Dickinson. I heard a Fly buzz when I died I heard a Fly buzz – when I died – The Stillness in the Room Was like the Stillness in the Air – Between the Heaves of Storm – The Eyes around – had wrung them dry – And Breaths were gathering firm For that last Onset – when the King Be witnessed – in the Room – I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away What portions of me be Assignable – and then it was There interposed a Fly – With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz – Between the light – and me – And then the Windows failed – and then I could not see to see – Explication In the poem “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died” Emily Dickenson states the setting being a room. In this room the center of attention is Emily as she slowly awaits her death. All present in the room are silent and focused on Emily. Throughout the room a fly “buzzes” around, and in the end Emily meets her fate. Many bad choices plague Emily Dickenson throughout her life, and in “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died” her opinion on the quality of her life is depressing and morbid. In the first stanza, Emily talks about how she hears a fly buzz when she dies. A fly signifies death, and relates to her hearing the sound of death moments before dying. She also tells us how “the stillness in the room was like that of the stillness in the air between the heaves of storm.” This shows how everything in the room was at a halt. Nothing else was occurring/and or everyone stopped to focus on Emily as she began to pass. In the second stanza, Emily talks about the main focus of the room. She states that “the eyes around had wrung dry and that breaths were gathering firm for that last onset when the king be witnessed.” This shows how all eyes were on her as she was passing. She compares this scenario to that of when a king enters a room. All eyes are put on him, and everyone watches in awe. In the third stanza, Emily talks about what she does in her last moments. She tells the reader how she signed her personal belongings away. She states that “there interposed a fly” She means to tell the reader that the fly, which signifies death, had entered and was now ready to take her. In the fourth stanza, Emily talks about her death and how it came. She uses the color blue to signify the sorrow in the room as well as an “uncertain stumbling buzz” to show how her death was present but no one knew exactly when her life would be taken. Emily talks about the light between her. This signifies the path to heaven that lies in front of her. But when it’s all said and done, the window she must go through to heaven “failed” to let her through, and the path to heaven disappeared and she stayed in darkness. This shows the reader how she is now stuck in hell. All in all, this poem represents the obscurity within Emily Dickenson. Her description of her passing really gives one a grasp of Emily’s view on her life and what she believes she deserves. Emily could be optimistic and see herself going to heaven, but she feels her choices have paved a path to hell and in the end she “could not see to see” See also *Other poems by Dickinson External links ;Audio / video *"I heard a Fly buzz when I died" at YouTube ;About *I heard a Fly buzz when I died" at SparkNotes Category:19th-century poems Category:American poems Category:Poetry by Emily Dickinson Category:Text of poem Category:Poems about death